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No matter how it had gone, Creighton volleyball coach Brian Rosen knew opening weekend would be a crash course. Like those old John Green YouTube videos. Three top-20 opponents helped the Bluejays see that, with a new, ailing setter and All-American hitters Norah Sis and Ava Martin long gone, their offense has a ways to go. Rosen knew that’d be the case during the preseason. It takes time. The second-year coach also learned that this group is resilient. You can’t teach that. After getting clobbered in the fourth set, CU hung on to survive Purdue in five. And after getting swept by Minnesota, the Jays rallied the next day for a four-set victory over USC. “We struggled with that really, really badly last year,” Rosen said. Creighton was swept by Penn State and Texas to open 2025. “Our team struggled with how to respond to that. There were a lot of team meetings and — not sulking, but not knowing how to handle it.” People are also reading… The lessons this team learned in August will help navigate the ebbs and flows this fall, especially come the postseason. But No. 10 Creighton (2-1) has to clean up its attack, and quickly, with plenty of defining matchups left in a daunting nonconference schedule. Arizona, Pepperdine and Tulsa come to Omaha this weekend for the Bluejay Invitational. Then No. 6 Louisville, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 12 Texas A&M, the defending national champion, await over the next few weeks. Collectively, the Jays hit .145 through last weekend, including .104 against Purdue, .068 against Minnesota and .266 against USC. Save for a .066 in last year’s Elite Eight loss to Kentucky, the Minnesota match was CU’s worst hitting percentage since 2021. Part of that can be chalked up to a new setter. Kansas transfer Katie Dalton didn’t arrive until June. Plus, Rosen said she “had some health things going on,” which explains the sleeve Dalton wore on her left leg. And her backup, freshman Rayna Christianson, albeit promising, is just now getting her feet wet at this level. The rest of it is due to Creighton having new hitters, or old ones in new roles. Wisconsin transfer Trinity Shadd-Ceres has never had a role this large, nor has sophomore Abbey Hayes. Same goes on the right side for preseason All-BIG EAST pick Jaya Johnson and redshirt freshman Ashlyn Paymal. In the middle, there’s highly touted Texas transfer Ayden Ames and returner Eloise Brandewie. The key to unlocking the attack, Rosen said, is for Dalton and/or Christianson to figure out the tempo. “What’s hard for the setters is that our hitters are all very different,” Rosen said. “It just takes time for the setters and the hitters to truly figure out what that relationship and balance is. The height, the tempo, when and where we can set specific things.” Rosen switched to a 6-2 midway through the Purdue match. He sprinkled it in against Minnesota, then wasted little time committing to it against USC. It gave Dalton a rest, allowing her to not block and jump as much. It let Christianson — “a phenomenal setter,” Rosen said — make an impact at the line. It gave Paymal, an Omaha Westside grad, a chance to show what she could bring to an offense that had struggled. Rosen used the 6-2 so much against USC that he ran out of subs every set. “It forced us to adapt and change and grow,” he said. That was the theme of opening weekend. Rosen figured it would teach his team, and it did. Winning was a bonus. Creighton could’ve left Sioux Falls with three losses. Instead, the Bluejays escaped with two top-20 victories, a better idea of who they are and plenty to work on. It was every bit the crash course Rosen expected. His team passed the first test. “That’s all we could ask for,” Rosen said, “and now we’re on to the next one.”